Ghostscript vs HTML2PDF Rocket

Ghostscript is a PostScript and PDF interpreter and rendering engine from Artifex, with conversion support for PDF, PostScript, PCL and XPS. It can convert among those formats, produce PDF/A output, and compress PDFs with adjustable settings. Its OCR device can turn printed or scanned material into searchable PDF text. Other image and print capabilities include raster and vector output, color management, overprint simulation, N-up imposition, screening and trapping.

Ghostscript runs as a standalone command-line application or can be integrated into an application as an SDK. The gsapi interface has Python, C# and Java bindings, with demos and sample applications. The maker lists uses including cloud document conversion, archiving, previews, e-invoicing, pre-press, printing and document management. It supports Windows, macOS, Unix and Unix-like systems, VMS and embedded systems. The AGPL license is free, with source code disclosure requirements and no support. Artifex says a commercial license is required for distribution in a closed-source product or SaaS deployment under its licensing guidance; commercial plans have no listed price. Conversion may not preserve extra metadata such as embedded files or document outlines.

HTML2PDF Rocket is a cloud service that converts a URL or submitted HTML into a PDF or image file. It can execute JavaScript while rendering pages, and its API lists JPG, PNG, BMP, and SVG as image outputs. PDF settings include page size, orientation, margins, grayscale, forms, print stylesheets, and headers and footers. The service is positioned for generating downloadable reports, brochures, and invoices from webpages. Code examples are provided for C#, JavaScript, PHP, Java, and Android, with links to examples for Python, Node.js, Go, and Swift. URL conversion supports SSL, HTTPS pages, and basic authentication. The maker says conversions taking over 30 seconds, or input or output files larger than 6 Mb, need batch or asynchronous parameters. The Free Plan costs nothing and includes 200 credits per month with a 5 Mb per-PDF limit; large PDFs use credits based on network traffic. BOOTSTRAPPED costs $5 a month and includes 500 credits and a 50 Mb per-PDF limit. Free generation stops when credit use reaches 100%, while paid accounts may continue at a slower generation rate.